


Birthday Blues

by Cutekittenlady



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-23
Updated: 2016-05-12
Packaged: 2018-06-03 22:15:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6628753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cutekittenlady/pseuds/Cutekittenlady
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Adrien worries what to get a certain Princess for her birthday. Perhaps his Lady would be willing to advise him?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Bad Birthday Curse

**Author's Note:**

> Get to know me on Twitter @cutekittenlady  
> And on my tumblr fic blog http://cutekittenlady.tumblr.com/

Birthdays.

Birthdays. Birthdays. Birthdays.

Adrien couldn’t help but feel he had to be under some kind of birthday based curse or something. How else could he explain his bad luck?

His birthdays were usually nothing special. They could barely even be called events. Usually, they passed by as regular days, except that occasionally he got a cake and his father gave him a gift. 

Adrien’s last birthday had been something of an exception.

He had gotten a party (sort of). He got to spend time with Ladybug (always a plus). And his father had gotten him an actual gift (instead of a pen that Adrien felt sure he just reached into the back of his desk and pulled out as an afterthought).

Of course two of those three things happened as a result of his friend Nino getting akumatized. Something that Adrien still felt bad about. His selfishness had almost let things get out of hand. Thankfully Ladybug had shown up, and together they had freed Nino from the akuma and things went back to normal.

But none of that was what was bugging him now.

With a sigh, he glanced down at the pink rectangle that lay on the table in front of him. 

It was a very well put together invitation. Practically a professional job. Pink paper with a black border, and a flowing flower design in one of the corners and along the side.

It fit the tastes of Marinette Dupain-Cheng very well.

Which made sense since it was an invitation to her birthday party.

Adrien sighed once more, this time much more loudly, as he kicked away from his desk and allowed himself to spin in his swivel chair. His head lulled over the back of the chair and stared at the ceiling of his room in dejection.

He wouldn’t be able to attend.

When he had first gotten the invitation (handed to him by Nino who had gotten it from Alya who had slipped it from Marinette’s bag) Adrien had been happy. For a long time, he had feared Marinette still held some animosity towards him after their less than stellar first meeting. He wasn’t blind to how differently she acted towards him as opposed to how she treated just about anyone else.

Around Alya, Nino, and most of the class Marinette was a friendly, witty, creative, if a bit clumsy girl. Around Chloe she had become a downright spitfire unwilling to put up with anything the blonde put forward (something Adrien himself could never seem to manage to pull off). And around Adrien…. She was an awkward stuttering mess.

Adrien didn’t know if she was intimidated by him or what, but the two of them just couldn’t seem to get very far conversation wise. Things had gotten better recently seeing how Marinette could now manage to string together full sentences in his presence but the difference in treatment was still visibly noticeable.

So the fact that she was now comfortable enough with him to actually invite him to her birthday party was enough to bring a smile to the boys face.

Of course, then he bothered to think it through for more than ten seconds.

If his father was strict enough to not allow Adrien to have his own party, he didn’t even have to guess how he would react to him attending someone else’s. Chances were Nathalie had already drawn up the ever dreaded schedule for the next month and anything unexpected like a birthday party would send her into an anxious mess.

The only conclusion that he could possibly draw was that he was cursed. A bad birthday curse or something like that.

“You’re reading too much into it.” Plagg casually waved the issue aside. “You miss events and stuff all the time. Don’t see why it’s such a big deal this time.”

“Of course,  _ you _ wouldn’t care.” He snapped back. “But it’s a bit different for me.”

Marinette was finally comfortable around him, if he went AWOL on her birthday it might damage all the progress the two had made. So what if she could speak in complete sentences if he couldn’t even be bothered to come to her birthday party? What would she be left to think of him?

(Naturally Chloe hadn’t been invited, though she didn’t really seem to care. Sabrina, interestingly enough,  _ was  _ invited. But one stern look from Chloe made it clear the other girl would NOT be attending.)

“So why not just skip out on your schedule and go to the party yourself?” Plagg tempted.

“I can’t do that.” Adrien stopped spinning and sat hunched over with his chin in the palm of his hand. “If I do that too much Nathalie could get fired.”

“But you do it to turn into Chat Noir all the time!”

“That’s only when I’m sure no one will notice!” He protested before blushing and adding, “And besides I’m only supposed to transform for emergencies.”

“You mean like that emergency last week when Nino invited you to the movies?”

“He had stood in line for five hours Plagg, I couldn’t say no.”

“Kinda like how you couldn’t say no to Kim’s track meet?”

“Everyone had agreed to support him.”

“Aaaaand,” Plagg smiled. “What about your late night ‘outings’?”

Adrien flushed. “It’s a self-imposed patrol.”

“If by  _ self-imposed patrol _ you mean running around the roofs of Paris with a huge smile and screaming your head off-”

“Okay okay, I get it.” Adrien put up his hands in surrender. “I abuse Chat Noir’s powers for my own selfish purposes. I admit it. What do you want from me a written confession?”

Plagg didn’t respond right away as he was too busy stuffing his face with smelly cheese. When he was finished he just burped and reclined against the rim of the now empty box of camembert. “Ahhh that’s the good stuff.”

Rolling his eyes Adrien checked the clock on his phone. It was almost time. 

“Time to go Plagg.” Standing now he walked over and picked up the box of camembert that Plagg was currently using as a makeshift sofa. 

“Awww, do we gotta?”

“Yes. Plagg, Claws Out!”

* * *

 

It was nearing nine-thirty when Chat Noir managed to make it to the meeting place.

Ever since this whole affair with the akuma had begun Ladybug and Chat Noir had taken to patrolling Paris every now and again in order to try and get a leg up on any akuma attacks that might happen.

Most nights were boring with no action, though occasionally they did manage to get to the site of an attack ahead of time and minimize any damage. Ladybug could fix even the most severe damage with her powers, but that was no reason to be reckless.

At least that’s what Ladybug said.

Chat had once taken it into his head to point out that on at least one occasion one of his Lady’s plans had caused the Eiffel Tower to be sliced in half. The look on her face had prompted him to realize it was a sore subject to bring up.

“It was a one-time thing, and I’d rather never do anything like that again.” She had said it in such a way that had told the feline hero that Ladybug herself wasn’t particularly proud of the event in question.

He couldn’t blame her.

Even though everything could be fixed there were people who were less than happy about the constant threat to the numerous historical monuments that dotted the bright city of Paris. Especially the Parisian Historical Society who were tearing their hair out trying to find some way to ban masked superheroes from public property. Needless to say, they never got very far.

But the reactions of those few people had been enough to make both he and Ladybug nervous. The two superheroes adored Paris. The bright lights, the monuments, the history, and of course the good Parisians who looked up to them. The last thing either teen wanted was for their actions to inadvertently damage the city they loved. 

And so they had decided to make their patrols much more regular.

There was little either could really do to prevent akuma’s from showing up outside of stopping Hawkmoth. Which they would have done already if they knew who or even where he was. But they didn’t know. And so far neither Ladybug nor Chat Noir knew how to figure that out.

So, for now, they focused on just dealing with the akuma as they came, waiting until a window of opportunity presented itself to confront Hawkmoth.

And that was the reason that Chat Noir had set out in the middle of the night to the top of the Eiffel Tower to meet Ladybug.

As ashamed as he was to admit it, he was almost thankful for all the disgruntled historians. Because of them, he got to see his lady that much more often.

He had taken a seat on the edge, letting his legs hang from the side as he stared out at the beautiful lights of his city. 

Nothing could beat Paris at night. Of that, Chat Noir was almost certain.

The sound of a zinging cord behind him and the gentle thump of feet hitting metal made the cat smile.

Oh right, there was ONE thing that rivaled the beauty of Paris.

Getting up and approaching the new arrival Chat bowed and took his Lady’s hand, “Good Evening, M’lady.” And kissed her knuckles warmly.


	2. A Lady's Advice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chat Noir gets some helpful advice from his Lady while Marinette faces an unknown feeling.

The thin fingers pulled away sooner than Chat would have liked, but they were replaced by the sugary sweet sound of Ladybug’s voice, “It’s nice to see you too Chat Noir.”

Standing erect Chat smiled contently as he looked into those pretty bluebell eyes. How he wished he could see them whenever he wanted, but he knew he had to be satisfied with only seeing her casually on patrol. Akuma attacks left little room for small talk.

He was brought out of his daydreaming by Ladybugs official tone, “Did you see anything on the way here?”

“PAW-sitively not!” He grinned humorously as he saw her brow twitch slightly in irritation. But the corners of her mouth slowly upturned in amusement.

_ So close. _ Chat lamented. One of these days he was going to make her laugh out loud. He just had to make the right joke at the right time.

Sadly Ladybug didn’t appear to appreciate the effort. 

“Very funny kitty.” She replied in a not-at-all-amused tone. “I didn’t notice anything on the way here either. Last time we covered most of the inner districts. Tonight we should probably start focusing on the outer ones.”

Chat listened while at the same time letting his mind wander back to the issue of Marinette’s birthday party. 

How was he to solve the issue? He wasn’t content with just doing nothing. 

He couldn’t just walk up to the girl the day after her birthday and say,  _ Oh yeah sorry I couldn’t be bothered to come to your party yesterday. You see I was just so busy with photo shoots, fencing, and piano. _

Maybe he was paranoid, but such a response might sound somewhat condescending.

Marinette was a sweet girl, but she had her limits. They had only just managed to get comfortable around one another. As far as he was concerned this party was almost a test. If he screwed it up he’d be back to square one.

“Chat Noir are you listening to me?” 

He blinked at Ladybug’s rather disgruntled face. “Ah… Of course!” 

She frowned and looked at him speculatively.

As much of a goofball as he was, Chat Noir was almost never inattentive. Not unless something was distracting him.

Ladybug bit her lower lip. She didn’t need him getting distracted if an akuma popped up. If possible, it’d be best to clear up whatever was bothering him.

So she risked a question, “Is there something wrong kitty?”

The cat ears on his head twitched slightly at the question before a grin spread across his face, “Aww are you worried about me Bugaboo?”

Ladybug barely contained the groan that threatened to erupt from her throat. She was just about to turn around and leave for her patrol when the grin disappeared and Chat’s face took on a rare expression of contemplation.

“Well,” he began. “I have a… problem.”

The spotted heroine couldn’t prevent the look of concern that crept into her face. Chat Noir always acted so carefree. Seeing him look troubled almost seemed unnatural.

Taking her silence as leave to continue the cat carried on, “I have this friend. Or at least I consider them a friend. We kind of got off to a rough start and since then they’ve always been kinda awkward around me.”

_ Set them off with lame puns no doubt _ , Ladybug quietly thought to herself. Outwardly though she motioned for him to carry on.

“Since then though we’ve slowly been getting along much better. And just recently they were comfortable enough with me to invite me to their birthday party. The problem is, I can’t go.” 

He stopped for a moment to gauge her reaction. 

Ladybug was blinking at him, clearly not catching on to why he was worried.

Taking a breath, he explained. “I don’t want to screw this up. I’m afraid that if I don’t show up she’ll think I don’t care or worse, that I never liked her.”

Standing erect the heroine responded with an “Oh.” and then followed up with an “Oh. Ohhhhh.”

She smiled at her partner.  _ So this friend is a girl? Interesting. _

“What’s she like? This friend of yours I mean.” Ladybug asked hoping to get more information.

Chat suddenly looked thoughtful. What was Marinette like?

“Well, she’s smart and creative. Sweet to almost everyone, but not really a doormat.” He smiled to himself as he carried on. “She works hard and does everything she can to help people out even when it’s inconvenient to her.” 

Ladybug’s smile only grew larger. “And her approval means that much to you?”

“W-well yeah.” He couldn’t help the embarrassed stutter. “I don’t want to disappoint her, but there’s no way I can make it. So… any suggestions?”

Ladybug couldn’t help but laugh, much to Chat’s surprise.

She just couldn’t help it. It was just so cute how awkward he was over this girl. Whether it was because he secretly liked her or not she couldn’t be sure. Chat had always flirted with her, but she didn’t really take it seriously. Chances were he did that with all the girls he knew.

Now that she thought about it that was probably why he had gotten off to such a rough start with this girl. He probably light-heartedly flirted with her without thinking. She got the wrong idea and probably turned him down. Doubtless when she found out he hadn’t been serious she had begun avoiding him. Only now was she giving him a second chance and Chat Noir wanted to make the best of it.

“M’lady?” Chat asked somewhat perturbed by the sudden outburst of laughter. It wasn’t that funny. He was in a serious bind.

“I-I’m sorry Chat.” Ladybug quickly calmed herself. “It’s just I can’t believe you haven’t thought of the most obvious solution.”

“Which is?”

Rolling her eyes she put it plainly. “Just send her a present. A little something to show that you were thinking of her.”

Chat frowned. He really would have preferred something a bit more… substantial. From his own experience he knew that giving gifts over actual companionship didn’t really fill the void.

Quickly abandoning his personal troubles and asked, “Are you sure that’s not too impersonal?”

“Not if you’re getting a gift for  _ her _ .” Ladybug responded. “You clearly care a lot about her right? So if you think about her and your relationship I’m sure you can come up with something to give her that will be special. Even if it’s something small. It’ll be personal because it’s from  _ you _ .”

Chat didn’t look entirely convinced.

“Besides,” she smiled as she reached up and placed a gentle hand on his head. “If she’s at all like you say she is, I’m sure she wants to be friends with you too.”

“You… really think so?”

“Well if she doesn’t then she clearly has no taste.” Ladybug flicked the bell around Chat Noir’s neck before zipping away on her yo-yo.

As she sped away into the night a gentle smile came to Chat’s lips.

“Thank you.” He whispered to the night. “I think I’ll take your advice.”

* * *

 

At the end of patrol Ladybug landed gracefully on the roof of Dupain-Cheng bakery. After a hurried glance about her to make sure no one was watching, she ducked in through the balcony.

A flash of red light enveloped the room and Marinette collapsed into her desk chair. She rummaged around for the bag of cookies she kept hidden in her room for Tikki and gave the little fairy the treat.

“You’ve been smiling all evening Marinette.” Tikki commented as she gratefully took the cookie and bit into it.

“I can’t help it.” Marinette laughed and then fell silent. Her eyes suddenly became worried.

“I know that look.” Tikki was used to Marinette’s random moments of worry. Outside of the suit, the poor girl was terribly prone to overthinking. “What’s the matter?”

“W-well…” she began. “Do you think… do you think I did the right thing? With Chat I mean.”

“Do you mean about the advice you gave him?” Tikki asked confused. “It sounded good to me. What’s the problem?”

“I-I dunno. I mean I really do think it’d be the best thing to do considering the circumstance but… what if it blows up in his face?”

Sighing the kwami began, “Oh Marinette-”

“W-what if that girl isn’t as nice as he thinks she is? What if he gets her something silly like a backscratcher and completely ruins his chance? What if- What if- GAH!” She collapsed her head onto her desk. “I just told him the first thing that came to mind without thinking…”

“I’m sure everything will be fine. He’s more charismatic than you give him credit for.”

“I KNOW that. But, I dunno…” She sat up and hugged her arms to her torso. “He sounded so serious about this girl. What do I do if… if he likes her?”

Tikki gave Marinette a suggestive look prompting the girl to quickly explain herself. “I-It’s just what if he DOES like her and he screws up thanks to the advice I gave him and she breaks his heart?! How am I supposed to deal with that?”

The girl groaned and grasped at her head. 

“You’re overthinking things Marinette.” Tikki zipped over to Marinette's cheek and gave her a light hug. “I’m sure everything will work out fine for Chat Noir. And if it doesn’t he has his own kwami to help him through it. Just like you have me.”

“Thanks Tikki.” Marinette whispered gratefully.

“C’mon you’d better get to bed. You have school tomorrow.”

“Alright.” 

Flicking off the lights, Marinette climbed into her loft and nestled down under the blankets. Tikki took her place on the pillow next to her head and settled down for a good nights rest. Closing her eyes Marinette tried to relax.

Tikki was right. There was nothing to worry about. Everything would go fine for Chat Noir. Marinette knew that. So really there was nothing to worry about.

And yet…

Turning over under the covers Marinette strained to understand the feeling that had welled up inside of her. It had started after Chat Noir had described the girl he knew. His voice filled with admiration and fondness. It wasn’t at all the same tone he used when he flirted with Ladybug.

At the time she had felt sure she was just worried. But now that her worries had been dispelled the feeling was still there. Why?

Groaning, Marinette turned over once more onto her back and stared at her ceiling. 

She felt… unsure, indecisive, and… insecure? Yes part of the feeling was her being insecure of that she could be sure. But why? What about what Chat had said had made her insecure?

Closing her eyes Marinette pushed the feeling as far back into her mind as she could. She would need sleep if she was going to breach the subject about her birthday tomorrow.


	3. A DJ's reaction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nino reflects on his best friend, Adrien embarrasses himself, and Marinette just can't understand what's going on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew finally got the third chapter out!  
> I would like to update this fic every Wednesday, but sadly it takes something of a backseat to my Papa Peacock project.  
> For some reason, it also takes me longer to write XD  
> Thanks so much for all the comments and feedback on my work! I was, frankly, surprised by all the attention this fic got. Thank you all for all the attention.  
> I hope I can live up to your expectations.

Adrien woke up the next morning. Showered. Got dressed.

And then proceeded to nearly fall asleep in his breakfast.

Rubbing his eyes the boy lamented his sleepless night. After the talk he had with Ladybug, Adrien had lain awake staring into the darkness. He had struggled to think about what kind of gift he could get for Marinette.

Ladybug had said that any gift he got for the girl would be personal because it had come from him. This, sadly, didn’t help narrow down his choice of gift options. Light hearted gifts like chocolates and flowers weren’t a right fit for someone like Marinette. As casual or congratulatory gifts maybe, but not as something as personal as a birthday gift.

So he started to try and think about the things that Marinette liked. Fashion was, of course, her passion but art, in general, seemed to come quite naturally to her. The two of them also seemed to share their taste in music. He hadn’t initially taken her for a hard rock kind of girl. But she had quickly proved him wrong when he found out that, like him, she was a fan of Jagged Stone.

That helped things along somewhat, but these were all things that anybody who got to know Marinette would know. Undoubtedly everyone else in their class had taken these exact same things into consideration and decided on their own gifts. 

Sighing Adrien counted the days.

A week. Adrien had just a week until Marinette’s birthday party. And that wasn’t even taking into consideration how long it would take to deliver the gift. Of course, he could always ask Nino to deliver the gift for him.

Even after breakfast and the excruciatingly silent limousine ride to school, the blonde was no closer to knowing what he would get the clumsy fashion designer. It was a frustrating problem.

The honest truth of the matter was that Adrien had never gotten a gift for someone before. His father never really seemed to need anything. Nathalie and the Gorilla couldn’t accept anything because they were employees. As for Chloe, Adrien had never actually picked out any of her gifts. It was his father who always dealt with that and then just put Adrien's name on it.

It was a completely new experience for him, and he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t a little intimidated by it. What he needed now was more help. He had already asked Ladybug for advice, and while he would be seeing her again before Marinette’s birthday he’d rather have it all figured out by then.

Adrien considered who else he could reliably ask for advice. There was, first and foremost, Nino. If  _ anyone _ knew how to have a good time it was Nino. Plus, Adrien was fairly certain that between the two of them, he had known Marinette much longer than he had.

Adrien and Marinette may be friends, but they had only known each other for just over a year. Many of his classmates had known Mari since primary school, and one or two could even recall having seen her before that. Likely in her family bakery.

The limousine pulled up to the front of the school and Adrien got out. He took a deep breath to prepare himself for the day. It wasn’t that he didn’t enjoy school. He actually enjoyed the experience a great deal. 

It was just that this particular day was the first school day since he had received Marinette’s invitation. 

Undoubtedly, everyone would be informing the young girl of whether or not they would be attending so that she could make preparations.

Adrien dreaded this inevitable interview.

He was terrified of how Marinette would react. Oh, he was sure she would keep herself composed… or as composed as she typically was. Adrien wasn’t afraid of her bursting out into tears or stomping around in anger.

Marinette didn’t have that kind of temperament. She didn’t get upset about not getting what she wanted. But she would be disappointed.

And it was the disappointment that the blond dreaded.

Those giddy shoulders going slack. Those lovely blue eyes downcast at her shoes. When Marinette was disappointed it was a sad sight to see. And if Adrien was forced to confess that he would, in fact,  **not** be coming to her birthday party….

As he mounted the stairs into the school, Adrien glanced down the street towards the Dupain-Cheng bakery. There was no head of black hair and pigtails rushing clumsily towards him. Sighing in temporary relief, Adrien hurried into the school and immediately set about finding Nino before class started.

He wanted to put off confronting Marinette for as long as possible. At the very least he wanted to have a gift decided. That might help ease up the guilt of disappointing her.

As it turned out Nino was in the classroom. He sat at their shared desk, leaning back in his chair, his hands behind his head, headphones on, eyes closed, and his head nodding to the beat of his music. The music had absorbed his attention so thoroughly that he didn’t notice Adrien coming up beside him.

A mischievous smile crept onto Adrien’s face. No one but the two were in the classroom, and Adrien had the sudden urge to act very Chat-like. 

He glanced at the door to make sure no one was looking in. Hooking his fingers, he crept up to Nino and tickled the other boys side.

* * *

 

Really the remix was very good.

The beats were steady and had a good rhythm. The tones used also fit well and altogether it was a relaxing set of music that on the verge of lulling poor Nino into sleep…

A sudden ticklish sensation rocked Nino from his meditative state. He jumped as a laugh was elicited from him against his will. 

It wasn’t hard to figure out what the cause of the sensation was.

“Haha, d-dude… c-cut it out!” Nino laughed out as he attempted to gently push the offending fingers from his side.

Adrien withdrew his fingers and smiled at his friend.

Nino was one of the few people Adrien felt he could be himself around. Goofing off wasn’t usually an option for him, given his public image. But around the beats loving DJ, he could be as mischievous and playful as he pleased.

Quickly recovering, Nino removed the headphones from his ears and gave Adrien a look of amused curiosity. “Okay dude, what’s up?”

Nino knew from experience that Adrien only disturbed his meditative music sessions when he felt the urgent need to talk about something. Though more often than not he tried to play it off while not-so-subtly forcing the subject.

Really his best friend was a hopeless case.

“Oh it's…” here Adrien avoided Nino’s eyes. “Nothing much.”

_ Yeah right _ , the DJ rolled his eyes. A quiet denial.  _ Next, he’ll try to force the conversation _ .

Adrien's eyes flicked around the room in what Nino could only consider a case of terrible acting.

“A-Alya and Marinette aren’t here yet?”

“Nope. They still got ten minutes, dude.”

So the issue was about the girls? Or one of the girl’s at least. And he could make a guess at which.

“Marinette will probably show up by the skin of her teeth as per usual.” The look on Adrien’s face told him his suspicions had been correct.

“Oh good.” 

Nino caught the whisper and he drove straight towards the subject. “What’s the matter? You’re usually excited to see Marinette.”

“I-It’s not that I don’t want to see her.” Adrien flushed in embarrassment. “It’s just… I… don’t… want to.” 

The DJ gave Adrien a moment to realize that what he had just said had made no sense.

“I-I mean!” he began again. “I-I’m not sure what to say to her.”

“About what?”

The blond's shoulders fell, and Nino frowned. That look of resigned defeat was all too familiar to him.

“I’m not going to be able to make it to her birthday party this weekend.” Adrien sounded like a kicked puppy.

Nino growled.

Of course. He should’ve known that Adrien’s dad wouldn’t let him go to a friends birthday party.

Nino didn’t like Adrien’s father. And it wasn’t just because their first meeting had resulted in him being akumatized. Most of the things that brought his best friend down were related to Gabriel Agreste. 

He had gotten over his initial displeasure over Adrien not being allowed to have a birthday party, but that displeasure quickly resurfaced every time the man let his son down. Which, Nino was sure, was more often than Adrien let on.

“Are you kidding, dude?” he expressed his displeasure adamantly. “Man she’s gonna be so disappointed!”

“I know.”

The look of dread that came over Adrien’s face made Nino want to kick himself for being so blunt.

Adrien sank into his place on the bench and laid his head on the desk. “What am I going to say to her?”

_ What am  _ **_I_ ** _ going to say to Alya?  _ Nino wondered. It had taken Alya some days to goad Marinette into writing up an invitation for Adrien. An hour of helping her to actually write it. And a stressful ten minute back and forth trying to convince her to hand it to him herself only for Alya to take the invitation from her bag and slip it to Nino to give to Adrien later.

Marinette had freaked out at first. But her nervous panic had quickly been replaced with an excited anticipation. As far as Marinette knew, Adrien was going to be coming to her house. It would be the best birthday ever. An event she would never forget.

And when Adrien had gotten that invitation he had looked, of all things, relieved. As though some unnoticed gray cloud that had been hanging over him had suddenly dissipated. Nino knew that, at least at first, Adrien had been looking forward to the event as something substantial.

Both of them were being let down.

Really, Nino supposed. It was partially his and Alya’s fault.

The two had been so concentrated on getting Marinette to invite Adrien to her birthday party, they had failed to make sure Adrien could actually  _ go. _

For this Nino blamed himself. He knew better than anyone how strained and controlled his friend's life was. How on earth he had failed to take that into account was beyond the DJ.

But there it was. 

Marinette had worked up the nerve to invite Adrien and he couldn’t go. There wasn’t anything any of them could do about it. Talking to his dad was a no go. Nino had tried that once and failed.

Nope. There was no getting around it.

The two sat in silent self-reflections for a good few minutes until Adrien finally cut through the tension.

“I… got advice from someone.” The statement was said haltingly and cautiously.

“Advice? From who?” Nino asked curiously. As far as the DJ knew there was no one in Adrien's home life who could really give him any advice worthwhile.

But the model dodged the question. “She- I mean, they said that I should get her a present. To show that I was thinking about her.”

A present?

A present.

A PRESENT!

“OF COURSE DUDE!” Nino’s rose from his seat in a sudden surge of inspiration.

The sudden outburst seemed to send Adrien reeling in confusion. Staring at his friend as though he was some sort of maniac.

“N-Nino, what are you-”

Immediately Nino sprang forward and grabbed Adrien by the shoulders, “WHAT are you getting her?!”

Marinette would not be getting Adrien for her birthday party. Of that Nino was sure. But she could get the next best thing.

If his best friend was anything, he was genuine. 

Sure, Adrien couldn’t be as goofy as he might want to be. Couldn’t be the fun loving guy that only Nino knew him to be. Giving off the feeling that he was more serious and mature than he actually was.

But everything else was genuine. 

His friendliness was genuine, even if his polite way of speaking wasn’t. His loneliness was genuine, even if his public image didn’t show it. And his kindness was genuine, and there was nothing that could hide  _ that _ .

“I… I dunno,” Adrien confessed. “I don’t think I can just get her any ordinary gift.”

“Well,  _ yeah _ .”

“But well…” the blond flushed in embarrassment. “I-I’ve never actually… gotten a gift for someone before.”

Nino’s eyes widened, and he pressed his lips together.

“So, uh, this is gonna be a first time thing for me. And I was hoping you could help me out with it?” Adrien asked hopefully.

Nino could barely contain his excitement.

Adrien had never gotten a gift for anyone before. And, of course, the first person he was going to get a gift for was Marinette Dupain-Cheng. The girl who had had a crush on him for over a year now.

Dear lord, it was all too perfect.

If Nino and Alya played their cards right this could be the inciting incident that would finally end the infuriating torture of watching both his and Alya’s best friends dance circles around one another day after day.

“Dude…” Nino finally managed to force out a reply. “I’d be honored.”

Adrien gave his best friend an appreciative smile. He could always rely on Nino to back him up. No one could have asked for a better friend.

The bro moment was ended as their classmates began arriving. 

And when a certain someone’s voice floated into the room from the hallway, Adrien did the only thing he could logically think of.

* * *

 

Marinette arrived at class with Alya. She was barely on time, but at least she wasn’t skidding into the room just as the lesson was beginning. 

Glancing across the room, she was disappointed to see Adrien's seat was empty. Nino and several others were staring at the empty space with looks on their faces she couldn’t quite read. 

Alya raised her eyebrow as she focused on the, apparently, empty seat with a look of suspicion on her face.

Stopping in front of Nino, Marinette asked, “Where’s Adrien? Is he not here today?”

He glanced at the empty seat, at Marinette, and back at the empty seat once more. “Uhh…” Nino gave her an uncomfortable smile before replying. “He might not  _ not _ be here?”

She blinked at him. It was such a strange reply she couldn’t help but wonder if something was wrong.

Alya seemed to have the same thing in mind as she narrowed her eyes and opened her mouth to say something. Only for Ms. Bustier to interrupt and begin class. 

Marinette hurried to her seat. Just as she was plopping her bag onto her seat she glanced once more at Adrien’s seat… and took in a truly strange sight.

Adrien, the love of her life, was hiding under his desk with his knees pulled into his chest.

Her bluebell eyes met his forest green ones.

Then, in a sudden jolt, Adrien hit his head on the bottom of his desk. He grabbed his head in pain as he slinked out from under the table.

Most of the class either stared in surprise, giggled, sniggered, or burst out laughing.

Adrien’s face flushed red in embarrassment and he stuttered out in explanation, “I-I uh… I was looking… for my contact lens…”

“ _ You _ wear contacts?” Alya asked in her accusatory reporter's tone.

“Sometimes.”

The sound of Ms. Bustier clearing her throat brought them all to attention. “If you don’t mind Adrien we’d like to begin class.”

“O-of course ma’am.” he stuttered out an embarrassed apology. “Sorry ma’am.”

The teacher nodded in acceptance of the response and began the lesson.

Marinette stared at the back of Adrien’s head, where the tips of his ears were red with embarrassment. 

She couldn’t help but smile.

_ He’s so adorable, _ she thought in complete reverence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is 100% Adrienette I'm afraid.  
> But don't worry, you guys will get more LadyNoir and Marichat in the future.  
> Not so sure about Ladrien though. Not sure that would work in this particular fic.


	4. A reporters misgivings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alya has misgivings and Marinette still doesn't know what's going on.

Alya chewed on the end of her pen thoughtfully.

She did her best to give her full attention to the lesson, but her eyes kept wandering towards the blond hair of Adrien Agreste. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion as he did everything he could to avoid Marinette’s gaze.

Of course, it wasn’t as though the boy took any special notice of Marinette. (Something Alya couldn’t help but chalk up to bad taste.) She wouldn’t have even thought that he was avoiding her if wasn’t for everything else.

The way his shoulders tensed. How his knee seemed to bounce under the desk. The uncharacteristic sound of his fingers drumming impatiently on wood.

All of it was completely out of the ordinary for Adrien Agreste.

He wasn’t nearly as laid back as Nino, but he was never this agitated. In fact, he was usually at his calmest when he was in school with his friends.

The change clearly meant something.

Her eyes swept over to Nino, who instantly turned to face forward in order to avoid her questioning eyes. This action only caused Alya to frown disapprovingly at the back of her boyfriends head.

Sighing, she turned her gaze back over to Marinette who busy taking notes on the lecture. Biting her lower lip and knitting her brow, she got a sneaking suspicion as to what all this trouble was about.

And she didn’t like it.

When the lesson was finished and all the students were getting up for their lunch break, Adrien made a beeline for the exit as though a pack of wild dogs was after him.

Marinette reached out to him with a look of clear confusion on her face.

Nino was on his way to follow him but was stopped by Alya, who reached out and grabbed his shoulder firmly. Turning to look at her, he was met with a pair of determined eyes.

Immediately her boyfriend deflated. “Wanna… get a bite to eat?”

She nodded as they left the classroom together.

* * *

 

“What do you mean he can’t go?!” Alya’s voice was raised in shock and anger.

Nino flinched. When Alya got mad she made it known to the world at large. Which was precisely what they _didn’t_ need right now.

“I mean he can’t go dude,” he repeated plainly. “His old man's got him scheduled for a photo shoot that day. There’s no getting around it.”

Alya let out a frustrated groan before collapsing onto a bench in defeat. “Marinette is going to be SO disappointed.”

“That’s what I said,” Nino smiled at her and added slyly. “But there is a silver lining.”

“Oh really?” the brunette asked sarcastically. “And what’s that?”

“Well since Adrien can’t come to her party, he’s decided he wants to try and get her a really awesome gift instead,” Nino smiled, certain that Alya would react in the same way he had.

But instead, she sat on the bench, brow furrowed in a disappointed fashion.

“What she _wants_ ,” she said pointedly. “Is for Adrien to be at her party. She doesn’t want anything else nearly as much.”

“Aww c’mon Alya!” Nino’s shoulders went slack realizing that his girlfriend was feeling argumentative. “Adrien’s never gotten a gift for anyone before. This’ll be his first time! And its for Marinette! Don’t you think that means something?”

“Oh, I’ll grant you it means something to _him_. But Marinette will still be disappointed.”

“I get that girl! But there’s nothing we can do about it! Marinette won’t just change the date of her party just cause one guy can’t show. Even **if** that one guy is Adrien. And Adrien’s old man’s probably never gonna let him go to a really _fun_ party. So helping Adrien find her the perfect gift is the only way to save the evening.”

Nino finally lets himself breathe after the points he had made.

Alya frowned. The points he had made were all true.

Marinette wouldn’t disappoint everyone else who had agreed to go to her party just because her crush couldn’t show.

And Gabriel Agreste was notoriously strict with Adrien. So she didn’t doubt what Nino said was true.

Not to mention the idea of getting a gift from Adrien would certainly make Marinette happy.

But it wouldn’t be enough.

Even if Adrien somehow managed to find that one perfect gift. If he didn’t deliver it in person, Marinette would still be left with a lingering feeling of disappointment.

It wasn’t that she wouldn’t understand. Alya was sure that if there was anyone in Paris who would understand why Adrien couldn’t go to her birthday party it would be Marinette. What bugged her was that she could already see the scene play out in front of her.

Adrien saying something like, _I’m sorry Marinette but I can’t go to your b-day party._

Marinette would be sad. And it would show. But just as quickly she would put on a reassuring act.

She would say, _No it’s okay Adrien. I know how busy you are. Sorry for bothering you._

Then, when she was alone, Alya was quite certain Marinette would cry.

A gift would show her that Adrien was thinking about her, but that would come after everything else that happened. Marinette was a girl who could feel things quite deeply. She was a very empathetic person. And while that made her one of the kindest people Alya ever met, it also meant that things affected her more than they did others.

Alya sighed, “No matter what we do, Marinette is going to be SO disappointed.”

Nino pressed his lips together.

There was nothing he could say.

* * *

 

Marinette wondered if her friends were planning something for her birthday.

It was the only way she felt she could explain why Adrien had rushed out of class and why Nino and Alya had slipped away before she could notice. All three of them were acting strangely, and Marinette couldn’t find any alternative explanation why.

As she wandered around outside of class, she glanced around looking for Alya. Marinette was in desperate need of some advice.

On the other side of the courtyard, she saw a familiar head of brown hair and hurried over to where Alya and Nino were sitting and talking.

Calling out to get their attention Marinette yelled, “Alya! There you are!”

Alya jerked in attention and Nino nearly fell over as she approached. Standing for a moment Marinette gave the two a questioning look.

Seriously they were both acting so strangely.

“I uh…” Nino motioned his thumbs to the right. “I’m gonna go.”

Getting up the DJ hurried off as though he was escaping a burning building. Alya glared after him but put on a smile for Alya.

Frowning Marinette asked, “What’s going on? Seriously everybody’s avoiding me today.”

“Pfft whaaaat? Nooooo” Alya put her hands up in mock surprise. “It’s just your imagination girl. Anyway, what do you need?”

Sighing Marinette took a seat on the bench next to Alya. “W-well… I think I need your advice on something.”

 _Are Nino and I the advice genies or something?_ Alya wondered in the back of her mind.

Whenever Adrien needed help he went to Nino. When Marinette needed help she came to Alya.

Still the would-be reporter was anything but a bad friend. She didn’t have anything else going on and Marinette needed someone to talk to. And who knows? Maybe it would help Alya solve the birthday problem.

“What is it that’s bugging you girl?” she asked reassuringly. “Let it all out.”

Taking a deep breath Marinette asked delicately, “Alya… what do you know about jealousy?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the shortness of this chapter.  
> I've had something of a busy week, and so I wasn't able to make the chapter very long.  
> I'll try to make next weeks chapter longer and with a bit more action *wink*


	5. Platonic Jealousy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette finally places a name to her feelings while Adrien is stuck between a reporter and a princess.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for posting this a day late! I've been busy with work and some stuff in my personal life.  
> However here's the new chapter now! I did my best to make this chapter longer than the last.  
> Thanks so much for supporting me so far, and enjoy the newest chapter!

Alya looked at Marinette as though she knew what was about to come.

“Is this about Adrien?” she asked with a knowing smile.

It was nearly always about Adrien. About not being good enough, or not knowing what to say, or what to do. Jealousy over her crush was natural enough, and Alya was sure she could help her friend deal with it.

So one can imagine the look of surprise that came onto Alya’s face when Marinette shook her head. “No. Not this time.”

Marinette was jealous. Of that, Alya could tell by her friend's own words.

This jealousy was bothering her. Also obvious.

She was, however, NOT jealous over Adrien. And that strange little fact is what pushed Alya straight into reporter mode.

“Really? Then who are you jealous over? Who are you jealous of?” When it came to Marinette the intrepid reporter always tried to keep her curiosity under control. But this was so out of the blue that she couldn’t help but insist.

Marinette drew invisible circles on the bench with her forefinger. She was immediately regretting asking Alya for advice. Alya was a great and reliable friend, but her natural curiosity often made things difficult.

However, her experience with talking to her best friend had helped her learn how to dodge questions. “It’s just… I have this friend…” she began.

Alya was quite sure this ‘friend’ was Marinette herself, but in the interest of getting more information she remained silent.

“And he, I mean, he came to me for advice.”

_ He? _ Okay, maybe this friend  _ wasn’t _ Marinette. “Uh-huh, and this advice was about?”

Marinette took a deep breath. “W-well… Okay, he has this friend who’s a girl who he really really wants to like him, but they’ve been having a difficult time getting along because they got a rough start. But recently she invited him to this big special event and he wants to go so he can get her to like him but he can’t go so he came to me to ask me what he should do. And I just blurted out the first thing that came to my mind!”

“Ooookay.” Alya had learned through experience how to interpret Marinette’s rapid-fire gibberish. “So you gave this guy some advice. So what? You give great advice, even if you aren’t so good at following it.”

“I know! That’s why I started freaking out. But then this OTHER friend told me I shouldn’t worry so much, and I took her advice and thought I’d feel better afterward.”

Alya was beginning to wonder who all these nameless ‘friends’ of Marinette’s were and why she had never met them. But she also knew that it would be pointless to ask her friend directly. In all likelihood they were just people in their class and Marinette, the ever thoughtful girl that she was, didn’t want to embarrass them.

Not that that mattered. Alya would find out who she was talking about in no time.

But there was still something that was bugging her.

“Okay, I get all that. But what does any of this have to do with jealousy?”

Marinette bit her lower lip and stared hard at the asphalt beneath her feet.

“I-It’s just… After following my other friend's advice, I did feel better. But not completely. I still have this weird feeling. And when I thought about, I realized that I might be jealous.”

“Jealous? Of what?”

“That’s just IT Alya I don’t know!” Marinette gave out a loud irritated groan. “All I know is that whenever I think of this guy friend of mine going off and hanging out with other people I start to feel like maybe he doesn’t like me as much as I think he does. But then I start to wonder why that matters so much. Because it’s not like I LIKE him, not in the same way I like Adrien, but somehow I’m still feeling jealous even if it’s not with the same intensity! Which doesn’t make ANY sense because while we ARE friends we barely ever see one another! He has a whole life outside of me!”

Finally stopping Marinette huffed, out of breath.

Alya let her sit there hyperventilating for a few moments while she thought the whole thing out.

“So you’re saying you barely ever see this friend of yours?”

“Yeah, it’s not really something either of us can control much.”

“And this feeling started after he told you about how much he wanted to impress this OTHER friend?” she asked before adding. “ _ His _ other friend not  _ your’s _ .”

“Yeah.”

Alya gave her a sad little smile. “Girl you are definitely jelling.”

Marinette gaped at her. “B-But WHY?! What do I have to be jealous of?!”

“Well, no offense girl but you do over think things. Like, all of the time.” Alya shook her head. “Let me guess, you’re afraid he likes the friends he see’s all the time more than he likes you.”

The red flush on Marinette’s cheeks was a dead giveaway.

“Ha! I knew it!”

“B-but… what do I DO about it?!” Marinette grabbed Alya’s arm in desperation. “I-I’ve never felt this way before!”

Raising her eyebrow Alya simply asked, “What about all those times you got jealous over Adrien?”

“Those were different!” Marinette reasoned. “Adriens… well ADRIEN. Cha- I mean, this friend of mine is a completely different case! It's like, a different  _ kind _ of jealousy.”

Marinette looked about ready to tear her hair out in frustration.

“Well, yeah, that makes sense.” Alya shrugged.

Blinking her best friend looked at her and gave her a, “What?”

“It makes sense.” Alya gestured towards Kim who was going up the stairs. “I mean THINK about it girl. If Kim went off and started flirting with some random girl, who would get jealous? Alix or Max?”

“Uhm, Alix? I think?”

“And why is that?”

“Because she likes him?”

“Okay now, if Kim went off and started hanging out with new people, THEN who would get jealous?”

Marinette blinked uncomprehendingly.

Alya groaned.  _ The things I go through for this girl. Honestly. _

“Max, Marinette. The answer is Max.”

“But why would Max get jealous? He and Kim are best friends.”

“EXACTLY girl.” Gently taking her friend by the shoulders Alya looked her in the eyes as she explained. “Look, I realize that jealousy probably isn’t something all that common for you. But you CAN’T tell me you don’t understand the difference between romantic jealousy and platonic jealousy.”

Eyes going wide, it took the raven haired girl a moment to simply say, “Oh.”

“Yeah.” Alya sighed. “Oh.”

* * *

 

Jealousy really wasn’t anything common for Marinette.

She had no real desire for things, so she never got jealous over worldly possessions or monetary wealth. And when she met someone who was more skilled than her in a subject, she was more likely to admire them for it than be jealous.

For a long while, Marinette had thought she was incapable of being jealous. After all, there was no point in being angry over not having something or lacking a skill. It was her own fault she lacked those things, and if she really wanted them she could work until she had them.

But looking back on it, she realized that she did have something she had gotten jealous over growing up.

Relationships.

It was so strange to finally have a word to fit with what she had felt growing up all those years. Watching as other girls had best friends who they whispered their secrets to. It wasn’t that she was friendless, but before Alya she had never really clicked with anyone before. 

Describing it was so difficult. Marinette supposed the best way she could possibly explain it to herself was that she had always longed to have a bond with someone else. Not just hang out from time to time, not just be classmates or peers, but really feel a connection.

Marinette realized that she had finally gotten that with Alya at the beginning of the school year. What it was about the other girl that caused them to instantly hit it off, she couldn’t be sure. Perhaps it was her bold confidence, her tireless determination to seek out the truth, her utter dedication to doing what was right.

Whatever it was she was grateful for it. That bond.

It was something she had developed with Chat Noir too.

Even if she had no clue what his real identity was, she had still somehow bonded with him. Connected with him on an emotional level in a way she hadn’t with anyone else. 

In all likelihood, it was their roles as superheroes that had nurtured this connection. Once you fought a horde of giant rock golem men on the top of the Eiffel Tower with someone you were pretty much friends for life.

Except, Chat Noir wasn’t friends with _Marinette_.

He was partners with _Ladybug_.

And that made a whole world of difference.

Marinette didn’t know Chat Noir the way she knew Alya. She didn’t know what his family life was like, what he liked to do day to day, what his hobbies were or his interests. She didn’t know what kind of foods he liked, what his favorite music was, or even if his terrible pun humor carried on into day to day life.

And Chat Noir didn’t know Marinette. He didn’t know the clumsy insecure everyday daughter of a baker. The person he saw was Ladybug. A confident, clever, superheroine who everyone adored.

If he were ever confronted with Marinette, ever really introduced to her, what would he think?

It was a thought she had entertained before, but it carried with it new meaning now that she realized what her feelings were.

Chat likely had friends outside of Ladybug. Lots of friends. He had a charming, likable, personality. One that Marinette was sure people would be drawn to.

People wouldn’t fawn over him and his dorkiness, but they would like him. They’d probably laugh or groan at all those terrible puns he made. Or they would play games, and hang out with him.

Her partner had a whole other life that she wasn’t a part of and that she knew nothing about. 

He liked Ladybug because she was cool, and graceful, and confident. Were those the kind of people he liked? The kind of friends he was drawn to?

If so he would be horribly disappointed in lackluster Marinette. 

She wasn’t really all that ‘cool’. She was more dorky than anything else.

And graceful? Please! She was the class klutz! If you wanted some fragile piece of antiquity broken you gave it to Marinette to carry.

As for confident well… She wasn’t exactly feeling all that confident now was she?

Here she was, worrying herself silly, and all because she had realized that Chat Noir was just as human as she was. He probably had homework, and friends, and family troubles just the same as she did. And it was strange how unnatural that thought was.

Whenever she thought of him, she saw him as the black leather clad half of the crime fighting duo of Paris. Not a teenager like herself.

What WAS he like without the mask?

He wasn’t anything like Ladybug. So in all likelihood, he was the same in costume as he was out of it. After all what reason could someone have for acting like a complete goofball in a catsuit if that wasn’t how they  _ always _ acted.

Quickly, Marinette shoved that thought out of her head.

No! She wouldn’t start thinking about Chat Noir’s secret identity. It wouldn’t be fair. Marinette fully expected Chat to not pry into her real identity, the least she could do in return was not pry into his.

Letting out another sigh (that won yet another look of sympathy from Alya) Marinette realized exactly what the issue was.

Marinette had bonded with Chat Noir over the course of their adventures.

But she didn’t know if he had bonded with her, Marinette. Or with Ladybug.

So distracted, was she, by her own thoughts that she failed to notice the open locker door until she ran face first into it.

* * *

 

The lunch break was almost over and Adrien had successfully managed to evade Marinette, head home for lunch, and then get back into the school without being seen. Now he just had to get back to class and get out of the school before Marinette could confront him.

Banging his head against the metal door of his locker Adrien once again felt a feeling of deep remorse. Avoiding Marinette like this was wrong. And he knew it.

He was a coward plain and simple. The idea of facing the inevitable confrontation with Marinette terrified him completely.

As Chat Noir, he had the boldness to say things he could never say as Adrien. Once the cat’s mask was gone all of the freedom and expression went along with it. The anonymity that went along with his secret identity made him comfortable enough to speak up against anyone. Even his father.

But once he transformed back, he was the ever obedient Adrien once more.

That was why this whole business with Marinette terrified him so much. If he were Chat Noir, he’d probably be able to tell the raven haired girl point blank that he couldn’t go, but that he’d be sure to send her a gift to show her he was thinking her. Then he’d probably give a stellar pun and leave with a showy flair.

Adrien however, didn’t have Chat’s self-assured confidence when it came to telling people things they didn’t want to hear. He’d freeze up and stumble through as best he could, but he could never address someone with the same force that his alter ego could.

Putting in his combination, Adrien opened his locker and retrieved the textbooks he would need for his next period. 

Just as he was putting his history book into his messenger bag, someone ran into his open locker door. The force of the hit had sent whoever it was flailing backward.

His body moved and his voice came before Adrien could even process what was going on.

Closing the locker door, his hand shot out and grasped the other person wrist pulling them back onto stable feet. “Are you alright? You need to watch where you’re going you almost-”

He stopped as he stared into the blue eyes of Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

_ Crap. _

The two stared at each other in stunned silence.

Glancing down at his hand around her thin wrist, Marinette immediately jerked it out of his grasp and brought it to her chest. “A-ah… Th-Thank you A-Adrien.”

Aaaaand the stuttering was back. Great.

“Uh, no problem.” 

The boy immediately began slowly scooting back away from the girl. Trying to retreat in the most inconspicuous way possible. The door was right behind him. All he had to do was hurry out some excuse and make a break for it.

“Hi there  _ Adrien _ .” 

Whirling around at the voice, Adrien found his only opening of escape blocked.

Alya stood between him and the door, leaning with her hand against the row of lockers in the most over the top act at being casual that Adrien had ever seen. Her eyes were narrow and piercing. Ironically like a cat who had cornered the canary.

_ But  _ **_I’m_ ** _ supposed to be the cat. _ He thought ruefully.

She gave him a knowing smile. “So where are you going? Don’t you have time to chat?”

“A-ah,” Adrien stumbled through his words. “A-actually I need to be getting to class.”

Glancing up at the clock on the wall Alya smiled and said, “Oh you’ve still got ten minutes. Plenty of time.”

“R-really?” he replied in a voice that did not at all hide his displeasure. “Lucky me.”

Marinette failed to pick up on his sarcasm. Instead, she smiled and sighed in relief, “Oh good. We won’t be late.”

Poor Mari was always late. And judging by the look on Alya’s face, this would be no exception.

“So Adrien,” the young reporters eyes were remorseless. “Did you get the invitation to Marinette’s birthday party?”

He gripped the strap of his bag so tightly that his knuckles turned white. Swallowing, he found that his mouth was growing dry.

“Ah, I-I uh,” he stumbled.

He could claim he had never received the note. Or at least he would if it had been sent through the mail. But the invitation had been handed to him by Nino who had undoubtedly told Alya about it. So there was no way he could lie his way out of this.

“Y-yeah. I got it.”

“Really?!” Marinette’s giddy voice cut him like a dagger.

Adrien felt himself breaking out into a sweat as Marinette leaned in excitedly.

“So uh, w-will you,” she began awkwardly. “I-I mean c-can you- That is to say, um…”

As she stumbled through her words Adrien tried to look anywhere but her face.

Why did she have to look so  _ happy _ ?! 

If she had just looked a little more casual or uncaring he was sure this whole thing would have been easier. But as it was she was in too good of a mood. Something that Adrien was sure would lead to her inevitable disappointment hitting her especially hard.

“C-can you…” Marinette finally seemed to wrestle back control of her tongue as she stared down at her shoes. Her cheeks growing pink. “M-make it?” 

That was it. It was out in the open now. All exits were slammed in Adrien’s face.

There was no running away from this anymore. 

His mind seemed to fail him as he tried to come up with what to say. What few things he could shamble together to say all seemed insufficient. There didn’t seem to exist words that could properly soften the blow.

Marinette’s wide expectant eyes stared up at him.

“I-I…” he began carefully.

She was smiling at him now. Dear god, why did she have to smile at him?! The memory of that sweet smile devolving into a look of broken disappointment was going to haunt him.

But there was nothing else he could do.

Adrien decided he was just going to have to live with it.

“I-I’m uh, I’m sorry but-”

Already the smile was beginning to disappear.

Adrien braced himself for the worst.

**CRASH!!!**

The sound of smashing glass caused all their eyes to be cast towards the door.

Screams reverberated through the hallway as students raced past the locker room in terror.

“An akuma attack!” Alya screamed. 

“Right now?!” Marinette screamed in horror.

Adrien stared blankly at the door in shock.

He could never ask for better timing.


End file.
